


Lucky

by Piano



Category: Free!
Genre: Eventual Smut, First Kiss, Fluff, Jealousy, M/M, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2014-01-18
Packaged: 2017-12-30 20:40:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1023153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Piano/pseuds/Piano
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto finally confesses and Haru couldn't be happier, especially now that Makoto has gained a boost of confidence from letting his feelings known. However, other people notice and become even more drawn to Makoto, causing Haru to worry that Makoto will eventually tire of him and go for someone a bit more deserving of someone as wonderful as Makoto is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Confession

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a prompt (that I no longer have a link to) from http://marukaprompts.tumblr.com/
> 
> I swear I was just going to make this a one shot, but then my love for these two became too strong and I wanted to write both adorable things and smut...so here you go!

It wasn’t exactly unexpected, what happened after the joint practice with Samezuka.

Makoto had been acting a bit jumpy all week. Fidgety, even. Haru had asked him what was wrong several times, but had only received a variation on: “A-Ah! It’s nothing, Haru. Well it’s not nothing but that- Well it’s sort of- I’ll tell you later.” 

Haru had a feeling that he knew what it was. Well, he suspected anyway. But his suspicions about what Makoto was feeling were right about 99.99% of the time. After all, he made sure to know everything about Makoto; a knowledge that filled him with a hidden sense of pride.

Haru sensed that he was going to find out what was going on that day. Makoto had gone off to talk with Rin just as practice ended and Haru took note of Makoto’s expression: slightly pale and he looked as if he might throw up. Rin, on the other hand, seemed to be offering him encouragement. He was grinning, teasingly at some points, but put his hand on Makoto’s shoulder as if to steady him and smiled reassuringly. Haru waited in the water, watching as Rin gave Makoto a hardy slap on the back as the taller one turned back towards the pool.

Once Makoto got to the edge he leaned down to offer a hand to Haru as always. Smiling, as always. Though this time his eyes seemed to shine with something Haru couldn’t quite place. “Haru, can I talk to you for a minute? After we change…”

After a rather quick change, Haru and Makoto stood facing each other next to Samezuka’s entrance, silent. _It’s almost too quiet…_ Haruka thought to himself, suddenly realizing that the rest of the Iwatobi swim team was nowhere to be found.

Had they let Makoto and him go off by themselves on purpose?

“Haru.” Makoto’s gentle voice roused Haru from his thought and for some reason the tone of it, combined with Makoto’s expression, caused his heart to begin pounding.

Even though he had been expecting it, Haru felt an unbidden heat rise to his face and even on the tips of his ears.

“I like you, Haru.”

His voice was soft when he said it, but determined, and he looked at Haru with a nervous but unwavering expression. “I didn’t feel like I would be able to say it before, but now…”

Haru’s eyes widened and he felt his blush deepen, much to his dismay. He took a breath, shakier than he would have liked, as he struggled to get the words out from the back of his throat. “I--"

Why couldn’t he say it? Was he still this horrible at expressing his feelings? He couldn’t just say **nothing** , wouldn’t Makoto think that he was rejecting him? 

Haru exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding, looking to the side in frustration as he clenched and unclenched his fists. “I--…” He began again, feeling the urge to throttle whatever part of his brain that seemed to be stalling on that one word.

But it seemed as if Makoto understood. Whether it was the way his eyes shined at Makoto’s confession or how the blood had so quickly run to his face, Makoto understood what Haru was trying to say. Obviously emboldened, he took a step towards Haru so that they were only inches apart, placing his thumb and forefinger on the shorter teenager’s chin and tilting it up so that blue eyes were forced to meet green. Haru didn’t even have time to really react as Makoto leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on his lips, shifting his hand so that it was cupping the side of Haru’s face instead.

Inhaling sharply through his nose, Haru instinctively reached up to clench onto the fabric of Makoto’s Iwatobi Club jacket. He had only been without air for a few seconds, which is nothing to a swimmer, but he suddenly began to feel lightheaded and could distinctly hear the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. Haru kept his eyes open for a few seconds despite the fact that Makoto had closed his, wondering if he would be able to memorize the expression on his childhood friend’s face. 

He eventually closed his eyes, though, leaning up slightly so that he could return the kiss better and desperately trying to bring in enough air through his nose so that he wouldn’t have to remove his mouth from Makoto’s. 

Makoto might have sensed Haru’s breathing problems, or maybe he was having some of his own, since he pulled his lips away after a few more seconds but kept his hand resting on the other’s cheek. Haru took a quick gulp of air, painting (a bit too loudly for his taste, he could have sworn couples kissing in movies made this look a lot easier and graceful).

“Haru…”

The way Makoto said his name, his nickname, sounded almost unbearably intimate, even more so as he moved his hand to gently shift dark strands of hair out of his eyes. Haru had to look to the side, desperately trying to hide the vulnerability that he was feeling from showing through in his eyes.

But he knew that Makoto must have already seen it, as the brunette leaned in for another kiss.

“Wow, Mako-chan’s suave!”

They pulled apart at the sound of Nagisa’s voice, who was staring at them with an amazed expression. 

“Nagisa-kun! The way you interrupted the moment like that was absolutely **not beautiful.** ” Rei huffed, looking away from the two of them as he pushed up his glasses in a very flustered manner. Nagisa had obviously dragged him over against his will, if the way the blonde was holding onto his jacket was any indication.

“Sorry, Makoto.” Rin rubbed the back of his head, trying to his best to look annoyed, though that was hard to do with the way he was sheepishly grinning. “I could only distract these idiots for so long…”

Haruka stared at them, agape, and adding the emotions “flustered and extremely irritated” to the pile he was already having trouble sorting out at the moment. He glanced to Makoto, expecting to see his friend red-faced and sputtering for words. To his surprise, Makoto simply laughed. His cheeks were a bit red but he was smiling, obviously happy, relieved and…proud? “It’s all right. It’s easier than explaining it to you, isn’t it?”

He had to look away from the smile that threatened to blind him, but couldn’t seem to stop the sensation of his lips tugging upwards against his will.

xxx

The next day Haru woke up in a daze, feeling tempted to slip back into a peaceful sleep for just a few more minutes, until he remembered what had happened. With his index finger, he traced the outline of his lips, vividly remembering the feeling of Makoto’s lips, slightly chapped but still comfortable and soft, against his own.

Suddenly he was wide awake and practically jumped out of bed before running to the tub. 

He remained submerged there for a while, wondering why the water didn’t seem to be doing its’ normal job of calming his mind in addition to his body.

_Is it because I’m thinking about—_

“Haru!”

He suddenly sat up, annoyed that the familiar sound of his name being called and the thumping of Makoto’s footsteps was sending such an unfamiliar jolt of nervousness through his body.

_What’s wrong with me? It’s just Makoto, isn’t it?_

“Good morning, Haru.” Makoto smiled, offering his hand as usual. Haru paused, staring up at him for a second before taking the hand and allowing himself to be pulled up as usual.

Suddenly he felt irritated that Makoto was acting as he would any other day, while he felt entirely off balance.

He climbed out of the tub but then stared at Makoto curiously, realizing that the brunette hadn’t let go of his hand and had a sort of gleam in his eye. He felt his heart speed up erratically.

“…Makoto?” He tried to sound casual.

Makoto looked to be considering something, then smiled. “Can I kiss you again?”

Haru’s eyes widened, shocked, before he quickly looked away to hide the redness in his face.

“Don’t ask if you already know the answer…” he mumbled, which caused Makoto to laugh in response. 

“Ah, I see. You have to look at me first, though.”

Haru let out a frustrated sigh then glanced to Makoto, blush deepening as he became lost in the passion flaming in the taller teenager’s eyes. 

When they kissed this time, Haru reached his free hand to wrap around Makoto’s neck as the other lowered his head down, not seeming to mind that Haru was dripping water all over his uniform.

They walked to school, wordlessly putting themselves closer to each other than normal as Makoto hooked his pinky finger around Haru’s.

Makoto’s confession had spurred a change in him. He had become even more confident, and his gentle kindness seemed to shine through then times more than usual. Haru noted how it would make his heart swell when he would see Makoto’s smile now, feeling the urge to wrap his arms around the other and kiss that smile for as long as he could.

Unfortunately, the peace in Haruka’s heart would soon be overwrought with an anxiety that he wasn’t used to experiencing. About a week after the confession, Haru realized that he wasn’t the only person that had noted Makoto’s change; the change that increased Makoto’s power to attract others to him with a stronger magnetism than ever before (if that was even possible).

Other people were noticing Makoto.


	2. Beginnings of Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Haruka has to deal with an intensifying sense of jealousy over Makoto, who seems to be unaware.

It wasn’t that Haru didn’t enjoy seeing Makoto happy.

It was quite the opposite, actually. Makoto had been smiling with such bright confidence that it made Haru feel as if he was staring into the sun sometimes: gentle and warm, but also powerful and alluring. He couldn’t help but remember something that his late grandmother used to say.

_“Love someone fully and with all your heart and you will know happiness”._

He exhaled softly, glancing from his normal spot outside the window to Makoto, who was paying attention in class as usual. 

_It would be fine if I was the only one who could see him smile like that._

Haru felt his shoulders tense when he spotted the two of girls who sat on the other side of the messy-haired teenager, exchanging knowing glances with each other as they barely suppressed a giggle. What were their names again? Haru barely paid attention to the other people in class, but he was pretty sure the one with curly hair was Ami and the one with short hair was Keiko. 

His eyes narrowed slightly, knowing exactly what those looks they were exchanging meant. Haru wished that they would look his way, for once, so they could clearly see the “Stop looking at my Makoto” expression clearly written on his face.

Wait.

Haru blinked, surprised at himself.

His Makoto?

He let out a soft exhale of frustration as he forced whatever thoughts those were in the deepest recesses of his mind. Instead, he attempted to pay attention in class. Not so that he could learn anything, since he would always just use Makoto’s notes (which were easier to understand than whatever the teacher was trying to say) but so that he could attempt to distract himself from the girls and his increasingly embarrassing thoughts. 

It worked for a few minutes. They were in English, Haru’s worst subject, and he had to work his mind harder to try and pay attention. However, he felt his eyes snap back towards Makoto when he heard the click of a pencil falling to the ground and a hushed “Oh no!” from Keiko. Makoto blinked, glancing from his notes to see that her pencil had landed right next to his foot. He picked it up a second later, giving Keiko a gentle smile as he did so.

Haru felt the grip on his pencil tighten. _You don’t have to smile like that, just hand it back normally!_ His mood wasn’t helped by the thumbs up Keiko gave to Ami once Makoto had turned around.  
Swim practice couldn’t come soon enough and Haru practically jumped out of his seat when the bell rang mercifully. He had his bag packed already, which caused him to look at Makoto impatiently as he stood up to put his books away.

Makoto laughed affectionately, seeing the hurried expression in Haru’s eyes. “You can go without me Haru, I’ll be there in a minute. I just need to ask the teacher a question.”

Haru nodded quickly and briskly walked towards the door, craving the water that would give him peace of mind so that he could forget about—

“Tachibana-kun!”

Haru froze just outside of the door then slowly glanced back towards the desks. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Ami, Keiko and another girl crowded on one side of Makoto’s desk.

“Tachibana-kun, I didn’t take very good notes for Literature...”

“Do you think we could look at yours?”

“Mine?” Makoto tilted his head curiously, then smiled brightly. “Well if you think it’ll help, that should be fine”

“Of course!”

“You’re so good at Literature, Tachibana-kun!”

Makoto chuckled, slightly embarrassed at the compliment, but accepting all the same. “It’s just the subject I enjoy the most.”

Fists clenched at his sides, Haru debated between going back inside and forcefully dragging Makoto to practice, standing in the doorway to wait for him, or heading off to practice like he had been planning. After a few awkward seconds he dragged his eyes forward again, walking a bit faster towards the pool as he tried to drown out the sound of Makoto’s laughter.

xxx

As usual, Haru was already in the process of exiting the locker room when Nagisa and Rei entered. 

“As expected, Haru-chan’s already changed! I bet you’re in even more of a hurry now that it’s getting cold!”

Rei nodded, pushing up his glasses up slightly. “Starting next week the temperature should start decreasing by 1.5 degrees Celsius every—“  
“Eeeeeh!? Next week?! Jeeze, I don’t want Fall to start!”

Rei huffed at the interruption but continued getting changed anyway. Haru tuned whatever half-argument they had started out, glancing at the doorway. If Makoto was late, Nagisa was probably going to ask where he was, and he really didn’t want to think about Makoto talking to those girls: giggling, complimenting him, unabashedly flirting and—

“Hey, Haru-chan, where’s-“

Haru felt himself tense slightly but before he was forced into an answer by his blonde friend, Makoto came walking in the door, smiling cheerfully.

“Ah, Mako-chan!” Nagisa immediately latched himself to Makoto’s arm, causing him to laugh in response. “Rei-chan says it’s gonna get cold soon, and I don’t wanna swim outside if it’s cooooold!”

Makoto moved to start changing into his swimsuit. “Well Kou has been talking to Ama-sensei about increasing our budget, so we might be able to use that indoor pool during the winter. Until then, I think we’ll just have to do more joint practices with Samezuka.” He looked to Haru with a smile. Haru blinked in surprise, since he had had found himself staring at Makoto while he changed for reasons he really couldn’t place.

He had seen him naked plenty of times, ever since they were children, so why was he starting to notice Makoto all of a sudden? 

Whatever it was, it was probably Makoto’s fault. Ever since he kissed him, Haru felt slightly off balance, like he was the only person who noticed that the earth had tilted a few degrees off its axis. It was because his feelings for were Makoto were shifting. Not completely changing, really, since he knew that he had always cared about Makoto, but as if he was becoming more aware of things he had taken for granted before.

Like the beauty of Makoto’s smile.

“It wouldn’t be any good if we all had to stop swimming together just because of the weather.”

Rei nodded with a smile. “I can’t improve the beauty of my Butterfly if I only theorize about the movement”

Nagisa grinned, then started running out towards the pool, grabbing Rei’s hand as he did. “Let’s not stand around here then, come on Rei-chan!” 

“Wait, Nagisa, don’t pull me-!” Rei protested, but to no avail as he was dragged along. Makoto chuckled affectionately before moving to follow after them, only stopping when he noticed that Haru didn’t seem to be moving. 

Makoto glanced at him curiously for a second, before smiling and gently tapping Haru on the shoulder. “Let’s go, Haru.”

Much to his embarrassment, Haru flinched slightly at the contact and glanced down to hide his reddened cheeks. “Ah” he replied in his normal monotone, following after Makoto.

This sense of imbalance was annoying. It was troublesome with how uncomfortable it was making him.

_But things should calm down soon, shouldn’t they? It’s just that I’m not used to it yet._

“Haru, do you want to come over after practice? My parents are taking Ren and Ran to a movie.”

Haru felt his breath hitch for a split second. At Makoto’s house, by themselves…

He quickly shook the thought out of his head. How many times had he gone over to the Tachibana household? There’s no reason for his heart to start pounding at the thought of being alone with Makoto, a person he had known for practically his entire life.

“Mn.” He nodded quickly as he dived into the water, before Makoto could read his feelings by looking into his eyes. 

xxx

Haru had avoided any post-practice awkwardness by not looking at Makoto while they got undressed, but the jittery feeling returned on their walk back to Makoto’s house. They held hands, Haru’s fingers laced comfortably with Makoto’s; a tradition they had begun after Makoto had confessed two weeks ago.

“Are you okay, Haru?”

Haru snapped out of his thought to glance up at Makoto, who was looking at him worriedly. 

“….I’m fine. Why are you asking?”

“Mn, well it’s just that you’ve seemed a little off all day.” 

Haru huffed slightly, glancing to the side. “It’s nothing.” After a moment, he reconsidered, and decided to give Makoto an answer that he might believe. “…Just the feeling of the weather, changing.”

Makoto smiled gently. “Well, there’s still some time before it gets really cold” He leaned down to kiss the side of Haru’s head, causing the shorter teenager’s heart to thump excitedly against his will. “And when it does get cold, I’ll just keep Haru warm.”

Haru stuttered, blushing furiously as he struggled to not seem as flustered as he felt. “That’s-…You idiot.” His embarrassment only increased as he heard Makoto laugh and once again remembered that they would be at the Tachibana house by themselves.

When they got to Makoto’s house, nothing particularly special happened at first. They had some snacks and settled down on Makoto’s bed to play some video games as per usual. However, when Makoto sat next to Haru, he sat close enough that their shoulders were touching and their knees brushed against each other with the slightest movement. Haru bit the inside of his mouth in an effort to look completely calm and unbothered by the feeling of Makoto’s body heat right next to his and the slightly rough feel of Makoto’s skin on his own.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop the pounding of his heart that thundered loudly in his ears. It felt so mortifyingly loud that he was surprised that Makoto didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong, since he just started the game as usual.

Haru could barely concentrate on the game, but stared at the television screen determinedly so that he wouldn’t have to look Makoto in the face. Suddenly, though, the game was paused and Haru glanced up at Makoto curiously.

He felt a sudden rush of blood to his face when he gazed at the oher’s. Makoto was staring at him with a gentle but no less intense expression, with a wanting look in his eyes that Haru couldn’t quite identify. Slowly, he reached his hand over to brush some hair out of Haru’s eyes, causing his blush to deepen. The way Makoto was looking at him and their positions were so embarrassing he wanted to look away, but he somehow found himself trapped by the bright green that bore into him. 

“...You’ve been acting so self-conscious, Haru…” He murmured, voice almost to the level of a whisper. “It really just makes me want to do something, you know?”

For a minute Haru felt like he couldn’t breathe, his heart was beating so rapidly. But after swallowing thickly, he managed to speak in a voice he didn’t quite recognize as his own. “What’s stopping you?”

With that, Haru felt Makoto wrap one arm around his waist and pull him even closer, eliciting a light gasp of surprise. Then he felt Makoto’s lips, warm and soft, against his own and he instinctively wrapped his arms around Makoto’s neck. 

This felt different than the kisses before. He was pressed so close to Makoto, so close that he almost felt as if he couldn’t breathe which wasn’t helped by how hard Makoto’s lips were pressed against his. Haru pulled his face away, breath stuttering slightly before he found himself pushed against the bed with Makoto on top of him.

“Mako- Mmph!” Whatever he was going to say was immediately silenced as Makoto kissed him again, hungrily, lightly biting at his lower lip before slipping his tongue out to gain entrance into Haru’s mouth.

Haru had no idea what he was doing or what he was supposed to do, but he found himself gasping slightly when Makoto did that, which allowed the other’s tongue to slip into his open mouth.

The intimacy of having Makoto’s tongue running along his own was too much. He was embarrassed and the realization that he had no prior knowledge of how such intense kissing was supposed to work caused a sudden sense of fear overtake him. Haru’s arms moved from Makoto’s neck to his shoulders, allowing him to push the taller boy away from his mouth.

They both gasped for air, Haru much more loudly, and the sounds of his harsh panting did little to ease his embarrassment. Makoto stared down at him, eyes widening at his expression. Haru wondered what his face had to have looked like, and how much of the fear Makoto had seen in his eyes for him to suddenly look guilty to the point of nearly tearing up.

“I-I’m sorry, Haru! Are you okay?! Was that too much? I just- I couldn’t--…” He trailed off, looking down in shame and Haru felt a sudden jab of pain at having made Makoto so upset.

“It’s not that…” He mumbled, having finally caught his breath. “It’s just…” He sighed and moved his gaze towards the wall as he struggled to get his words out. “It’s just…embarrassing. I don’t know what I’m doing and in this position I...“ He trailed off, squirming a little underneath Makoto.

_Did I just ruin it?_

Makoto finally spoke, the guilt gone from his voice. “Then…” He shifted so that he was no longer on top of Haru, causing the other to stare in surprise, then rolled over so that he was lying on his back next to him instead. “If you came on top of me, would it make you less nervous?” He smiled. “I don’t really have a preference either way, as long as I get to hold Haru.”

Haru was at a loss for words, as usual, but responded in the best way he knew how: action. He sat up quickly, moving so that he was straddling Makoto’s hips.

“I don’t know what I’m doing so-“ He glanced to the side. “Don’t make fun of me.”

Makoto chuckled lightly, without malice, as he reached his hands towards Haru in response. Haru bit back the urge to call him an idiot again and leaned down to kiss him instead.

His kisses were slower, more hesitant than Makoto’s were and Haru hated how horribly self-conscious it made him feel. He hoped Makoto didn’t mind, but the way Makoto closed his eyes contentedly and sighed against his mouth gave Haru hope that he was enjoying it at least a little bit. He decided to try and continue where Makoto left off, lightly scraping his teeth against the other’s bottom lip, then tilting his head slightly to deepen the kiss.

Makoto moaned softly, wrapping one arm around Haru’s waist and using the other hand to thread through his silky dark hair. His mouth opened expectantly for Haru’s tongue, causing Haru to wonder why Makoto seemed so much calmer about this than him.

_Has he done this before?_

Quickly shoving those thoughts aside, Haru finally slid his tongue into Makoto’s, who arched his back slightly in response as he began to run his tongue along Haru’s. 

The room became unusually quiet except for the embarrassingly loud moans and slurping sounds as Haru grew more confident in his technique. He could tell that Makoto was holding himself back though, slowly exploring the inside of Haru’s mouth with his tongue, almost as if he was showing him what to do. 

Sitting on top helped. Haru didn’t feel trapped, and happily responded to Makoto’s movements by sliding his tongue along the underside of Makoto’s, then along to the sides of his mouth. His lungs had been screaming at him for a true breath of air for some time, but for some reason felt that it would be worth passing out as long as he could feel the sensation of Makoto’s mouth and tongue against his for as long as possible. Finally though, he had to pull back, panting for air. A string of saliva still connected them, and the sight of spit running along the corner of Makoto’s mouth ushered in a whole new sense of embarrassment.

His technique was still pretty bad. There was too much spit, his teeth had clacked against Makoto’s and he was sure there were other things that he had done incorrectly. Haru pressed the back of his palm to his lips, wiping them as he looked to the side, breaking shakily. “I--…”

“Haru…”

He hesitantly looked back at Makoto, expecting him to look disappointed, but instead found a giddy smile on his face. “I’m so happy.”

Haru’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what to say when Makoto was so unbelievably, stupidly blunt like this, so he instead wrapped his arms around Makoto’s head and buried his face against his neck, mumbling softly against his skin. “I’ll get better at it, so…”

“Mn, I know” Makoto rubbed Haru’s back. “No one will be home to interrupt us for at least another two hours, so we can practice all we like.”

Haru glanced up at him, still keeping his lips pressed against Makoto’s skin. _You planned this from the start_ he said with a brightening of his eyes.

Makoto didn’t reply to that, but his smile told him all he need to know. 

Haru tried to feel annoyed, but he really couldn’t. Not when the sensation of kissing Makoto’s neck as brown hair brushed against his skin felt so nice. Even though his technique still wasn’t where he would like it to be, kissing Makoto deeply, hotly, with too much spit and teeth, still felt perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but hopefully the fact that it's a longer chapter makes up for it. 
> 
> And no, this wasn't a "Fade to black" scenario at the end, all they did was make out on the bed ;)


	3. What He Wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rin tries to help Haru and Makoto with English. Haru isn't quite sure how to understand his evolving feelings.
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me and my slow updating! Any comments are appreciated ^_^

“Okay, you guys done yet? I gave you like twice the amount of time you’d get for the quizzes normally so…”

“Well, about that…”

“…”

“Are you kidding me with this?!” Rin reached down to ruffle the hair of his failed pupils. One complete (but incorrect) English quiz was sitting on the table while one half-attempted (but semi-correct) quiz was sitting next to it. “Seriously, this is just getting pathetic!”

Haru swatted Rin’s hand away with an annoyed glare. “Maybe you’re just a bad teacher” he replied impassively.

“What was that?! Haru, you-“

“Come on now, that’s enough” Makoto chided, playing his usual role of calming things down between the two before they got carried away. “Haru, you know Rin was nice enough to come over and help for the test next week.”

Haru simply huffed at that and turned his glance to the side. He wasn’t the one that had asked Rin to come over to his house like this. He liked hanging out with Rin, but there were many, **many** other things that he’d rather be doing than sitting inside, studying his worst subject, on one of the last nice September days they were likely going to get. He’d rather be swimming, or at the beach, or if he was forced to stay inside, he’d rather be alone with Makoto.

He snuck a glance to Makoto’s face and, more specifically, his lips. It was irritating, sitting right next to him and being unable to lean against him and ask for a kiss silently, with his eyes and a brush of his hand to Makoto’s cheek.

_Makoto doesn’t bothered about it, though._

Makoto seemed completely at ease, laughing and smiling as Rin did his best to not seem that he was invested in getting his friends to pass their class.

Completely the opposite of the tightness Haru felt within himself.

Makoto had been the one to initiate their first round of passionate kissing, but from then on it seemed as if Haru had to ask (if not directly) each and every time after that. It gave him an uneasy feeling that Makoto didn’t want to kiss, or that he had gotten bored, or that Haru was the only one who was beginning to feel a need for more.

The desire for physical intimacy was a completely foreign concept to Haru. He knew that he was different from other boys in his class, who would constantly talk about girls and magazines they had hidden under their bed and used behind closed doors. He had thought _“I guess I’m just not that interested in it”_ until Makoto had kissed him for the first time. 

The more his feelings intensified for Makoto, the more he wanted to hold and touch him. The more often he thought about Makoto, the more these unfamiliar thoughts and desires crept into his brain at the most inopportune times.

“Oi, Haru, did you even pay attention to what I just said?”

Like now, for example. 

He scowled a bit. _How can I pay attention to something so boring?_ He knew he was being petulant, but he didn’t really care.

Rin let out a frustrated sigh but, despite all of his complaints, showed Haru and Makoto what they were doing wrong anyway. Makoto paid attention, nodding and trying to get the hang of it, while Haru pretended to gaze at the page.

“Okay, okay, I think that’s all I can show you guys today. Seriously, after all this work you better damn well improve!” Rin started to gather his books and shove them in his bag.

Makoto let out a chuckle as he stood up from the table, stretching from side to side. “Well I don’t think we got worse, anyway. Thanks, Rin.”

The redhead glanced to the side to avoid looking at Makoto’s grateful smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “Don’t mention it….” Shrugging his backpack over one shoulder. “All right I gotta take the train home now before it gets too late.”

“Why don’t we hang out after the next joint practice, then?”

“I-…” Rin paused, obviously trying to hide how much he really wanted to hang out with his Iwatobi friends. “I’ll see what my schedule’s like. But seriously, you better freaking study your asses off if you don’t wanna fail. Especially you, Haru!” He remarked with a half-hearted threat as he headed out the door.

With a laugh and a scowl, both of them waved to their childhood friend as he left. Makoto began to clear some of their homework off the table.

“That was nice of Rin to come over and help us like that, don’t you think? He’s so lucky, having gone somewhere where he could practice English properly.”

“Yeah.” 

Despite all of his insults, he really was glad to be seeing Rin like this, sort of like how they used to be in elementary school. But he couldn’t help but be a little relieved now that he was gone, and he felt a nervous anticipation at being alone with Makoto again.

“I do hope he can hang out with us next week. I think Rei said something about wanting to ask about swimming books he could borrow…”

But Makoto was just puttering around his room, talking about nothing.

_Why isn’t he looking at me? Doesn’t he want to…_

“Makoto.”

He immediately looked down at Haru with a smile that made the other’s heart jump. “Yes, Haru?”

After a pause he glanced down, muttering softly. “I’m thirsty.”

“Mn, me too! I’ll get us something out of the fridge, okay?”

Damn, that was pathetic.

It really wasn’t Makoto’s fault, was it? The fact that he suddenly became embarrassed to the point where he was unable to clearly state what he wanted was probably what was really preventing them from going at a faster pace. Haru had gotten better at speaking his mind and sharing his emotions with the people he cared about ever since the relay with Rin. When it came to Makoto and all of the confusing emotions and wants that were swirling around his head, however, it sometimes seemed like he was reverting back to his elementary-school self.

“Here, Haru.”

Makoto’s sudden appearance snapped Haru out of his thoughts, making him jump a few inches in the process. Biting his lip in embarrassment, he quickly took the can from Makoto with a “Thanks”.

Makoto took a seat next to him, opening his own drink as well, either not noticing or choosing not to comment on Haruka’s jumpiness.

_This is stupid. Why am I still getting like this? It’s been long enough that I should just be able to…_

He glanced over at Makoto, eyes widening when he saw green eyes clearly staring at him.

_Should be able to just…_

Setting his drink down on the table, Haru slumped against Makoto, resting his forehead on the other’s arm. Avoiding staring up at those eyes, into his face.

With a clink, Makoto had set his drink down as well in order to turn and tightly wrap Haru up in an embrace. Haru inhaled quickly, reaching up to cling onto the back of Makoto’s shirt as the other’s scent filled him up, making him feel dizzy.

“…Haru.” He murmured, beginning to kiss his forehead, then temple, then his earlobe, then slowly down along his jawline. Haruka shivered, pulling himself closer to Makoto and letting out a soft gasp as he tilted his head in order to let Makoto begin kissing his neck. “Makoto…”

It wasn’t enough to just let himself be touched. Shifting to his knees, Haru reached his hands around Makoto’s neck and began to kiss along his jaw. He felt Makoto gasp and stiffen ever so slightly, making a self-conscious blush rise to his cheek as he glanced over towards Makoto’s face. “Is this okay?”

Makoto chuckled softly, kissing the corner of Haruka’s mouth. “It’s okay.” Despite feeling like Makoto was a bit too amused, Haru leaned up to kiss him, on the mouth this time, deepening the kiss after a moment and moaning softly. 

Slowly, Makoto’s warm hands found their way under Haru’s shirt, causing the other to try and move closer (though that was hardly possible). Haru noticed how strong and comforting his touches felt as his hands slowly moved up and down along his hips, fingers delicately tracing the lines of his muscles as they went along.

Pulling his lips from Makoto’s just far enough so that he could get a breath, Haruka tried to voice his desires to the other. “Makoto…” He felt Makoto’s hands stop along the rim of his hips, tracing invisible patterns along his skin. He felt himself trembling slightly, a mix of nerves and possibly anticipation.

_He’s usually able to just tell what I’m thinking, right? But for something like this I should just say it…_

Makoto, feeling Haru’s trembling, quickly looked into the other’s face to try and determine what he should do. “Haru?” By the hesitation reflected in his eyes, Haru could tell that the other was having some trouble reading him.

_Touch me more. I want you. Even if I don’t know what I’m doing, I want to touch you too._

“I…”

The shrill sound of Makoto’s ringtone caused the both of them to jump up in surprise, Haru slamming his head into Makoto’s jaw in the process.

“Ow-!”

“Tch- Gah, are you okay, Haru?!”

Haruka glowered but nodded as he rubbed his head, feeling like the pain was increased threefold by his irritation. Makoto glanced over to his phone, flipping it open when he saw the number and flashing Haru a sheepish grin.

“Sorry, it’s my mom. Hello?”

He quickly tuned whatever he was saying to his mother out, flopping down on the couch with a sigh and fidgeting with the fabric of his shorts.

“Ah, sorry Haru!” Haru glanced up at Makoto, who had apparently finished his conversation. “My mom needs me to watch Ren and Ran for a bit since she has to go help my dad with something.” He tilted his head with a smile. A smile that seemed too calm, too normal, compared to how Haru thought he should be after they were just interrupted. “Do you want to come over?”

Usually Haru would have agreed but instead a “No thanks” came out, causing a flash of hurt to cross Makoto’s eyes before he quickly smiled again.

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with a quick kiss on the lips, he was gone.

Haru let gravity pull his head down on the couch pillow, an unfamiliar weight of emotions compressing his chest.

_Why didn’t I just go to his house? I probably hurt his feelings, and I would have had fun…_

Wincing slightly, he brought his knees together as the hot weight between his legs began to get harder to ignore. But Makoto wasn’t here to touch him, to do what he wanted.

_Am I just mad? It’s not his fault his mom called, so why?_

Flipping so that he was lying on his stomach, Haru pulled the pillow over his head and squeezed his eyes shut. 

_Is it because he was able to leave so easily, while I’m like this?_ He bit his lip as he felt a sudden pain in his chest. 

_If I had told him what I wanted, would he have just told me ‘No’ with a smile?_

The sudden thought that he wanted to become closer with Makoto, even closer than they were already, and the possibility that Makoto didn’t want the same thing from him caused a sudden chill to rush over his body and sent him running up into the bathroom to soak in the tub. He was in there at least 30 minutes longer than he should have been, judging by the way his fingers and toes pruned when he finally stepped out.

The next day started off badly, with Haru waking up irritated and tired. He had gone to bed on time, but still felt as if he had been awake all night. After his alarm went off, he buried deeper under the covers, debating between staying in bed the rest of the morning or getting up and trying to function as a normal member of society. His motivation wasn’t helped by the sudden frost that had spread last night, leaving a chill in the air that made its way into his empty house.

A “ding” from his phone alerted him to a text message, forcing Haru to lazily force his arm from under his sheet to pick up his phone. Of course, the message was from Makoto. Who else would be messaging him this early in the morning?

**Subject: Morning~!  
It was kind of hard to get the twins up this morning, so I’ll wait for you outside my house, okay?**

Haru sighed, wondering why the thought of Makoto not picking him up made his motivation decline even further.

Another text message.

**Subject: none  
I know you’re probably still in bed so please at least get dressed!**

_How does he even know from this far away?_

His irritation wasn’t helped by Makoto’s nagging message, but he got up anyway and made it down to Makoto’s house, dressed and fed, in time for them to head to school together. Despite the chill he hadn’t bothered with a scarf or gloves, not really feeling the need although he regretted it when he was outside for a few minutes. 

Makoto was waiting for him in is usual place, causing Haru to smile a little. He was tired, but Makoto’s bright smile upon seeing him made his mood begin to lighten slightly.

“Good morning, Haru!” Leaning down, he kissed him on the cheek, drawing back in surprise when the warmth of his lips contrasted so sharply with the iciness of Haruka’s skin . “Ah, you didn’t even wear a scarf! No wonder you feel so cold.” He grasped Haru’s chilled hands in his own, breathing on them. Haru looked to the side, wondering how long he would have to avert his eyes in order for Makoto to miss the deep red spreading from his ears to his neck.

Haru’s mood brightened even more, though he wouldn’t show it, when Makoto wrapped his own scarf around the both of them, so they would have to walk even closer on the way to school. Though he did mutter a quiet “Thanks”, garnering a gentle chuckle from Makoto. “Of course! Though maybe I should start bringing extra gloves in case you forget yours again.”

The hand that was holding Makoto’s, shoved tightly into the other’s pocket, was so warm that Haru considered forgetting his gloves again during the next cold day so that he could walk beside Makoto in the same way.

By the time they got to school, Haru had almost completely forgotten about the doubts that had plagued him during the previous night. That was, until, Makoto went over to “help” the girls who had borrowed his Literature notes from before during a break in between classes. Trying to look anywhere but at Makoto, Haru found himself unable to block out the conversations around him.

“Keiko is so lucky…I want to borrow his notes too!”

“I wonder if she’ll confess.”

“Oh, confessing just as the leaves change color would be so romantic!” Her happy sigh was much too loud for Haruka’s ears. “Oh, I want to confess too. Look at how sweet he is even when he has to repeat himself to her…If I could go out with someone like Tachibana-kun, I would treasure him more than anything!”

Gritting his teeth, Haru buried his head in his arms, feigning sleep and trying to ignore the painful twist in his stomach.


	4. Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa accidentally makes Haru realize what he's truly been worrying about as Makoto's popularity becomes even more worrisome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience in waiting for this chapter! I had finals, then I was traveling, so it was a bit hard to work on it.

Confessions were a rather long, drawn-out process and Haru was finding that he didn’t like them one bit. He could sense one coming a mile away, the signs depending on whether or not the girl would be in his class. If she was in his class, she would act “shifty” (as Haru liked to call it), sneaking glances at Makoto incessantly throughout the entire day and would receive some encouragement and advice from the other girls in the class. If it happened to be a girl from another class, Haru would catch her poking her nose into the classroom or waiting outside the door as he and Makoto would leave. 

Makoto didn’t know that this was the reason Haruka had started waiting for him before heading off to swim practice or to have lunch. Haru’s usual icy blue glance was usually enough to scare the already-timid lovestruck victim away before she could so much as say a word to Makoto and before Makoto could notice.

However, it seemed that as the weather got colder, the girls got bolder.   
It was the end of October, and Haru was slightly edgy. Even with practices at the indoor pool, nothing compared to the convenience of going to the rooftop pool whenever he felt like it. He had promised Makoto that he wouldn’t try to swim outside anymore, something his boyfriend had drawn out of him after a great deal of pleading (“You’re seriously going to catch pneumonia!”) and kisses. It was a good thing Makoto didn’t know to start out with kisses and sweet words in order to convince him to do something. Otherwise, Haru would be forced to give in more often than he would like.

_"Boyfriend"_

The word still felt new and his unfamiliarity with it was beginning to take its toll. After all, despite the slight increase in physical intimacy, he felt like his relationship with Makoto wasn’t much different than it was before. They still swam together, went shopping, hung out with friends, went to the beach, and slept over at each other’s houses…Was he supposed to be doing something different? Despite Nagisa’s teasing and pestering (which Rin and Rei both responded with blushes and “I don’t want to hear it!”), they really hadn’t gotten any farther besides kissing and gentle touches.

Was that…normal?

“Nanase-kun, right?”

A cheerful voice snapped Haru out of his thought. Sighing lightly in irritation, Haru glanced up from his locker to the source of the voice: a girl his age, whom he didn’t recognize. By the way she had her dark hair curled and smiled brightly, Haru guessed she would probably be someone other guys in his class would call “cute”. Not that he really knew, or cared.

“Yes?” He tried to act as if he was going somewhere, but it was the end of the day and there was no swim practice, and all he was doing was waiting for Makoto.  
“Right! You’re in Tachibana-kun’s class? Okay, well since you two seem to be good friends, I was thinking you would be the perfect person to ask this!” Haru was liking where this was going less and less. “Do you know if Tachibana-kun likes sweets? Like cake or chocolate?”

Haruka averted his gaze, staring intently at the window. The sky had darkened and it looked as if it was going to rain. Makoto hadn’t reminded him to bring an umbrella to school, so he had forgotten. 

He heard the girl clear her throat, reminding him that simply ignoring her was probably not going to make her go away. With a sigh, he turned his gaze back towards her, trying to look as impassive as possible. “I don’t know” Haru hesitated, not sure if he should continue but “Why?”

“You don’t?” She pouted a little, folding her arms across her chest. “But aren’t you two always together?” Brightening at the question, she giggled a bit. “It’s a secret!”

Haru could no longer hide the scowl that had been threatening to form. “A secret?” He knew perfectly well what she was intending to do. If he told her the truth, that Makoto loved chocolate candies and pastries, she would probably whip up something in order to impress him during her confession. This really, really did not sit well with him. Just as he opened his mouth to tell her to give it a rest, the cause of his constant emotional ups and downs appeared.

“Sorry I’m late, Haru.” Makoto smiled curiously at the girl, who immediately blushed gleefully upon seeing him. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No. Let’s go.” Haru thought about taking Makoto’s hand and pulling him away, claiming him. His fingers twitched expectantly but unfortunately the hesitance cost him, as it gave her the opportunity to lean in towards Makoto and grab his arm flirtatiously. 

“Oh Tachibana-kun, can I talk to you a minute?”

Makoto looked a bit confused but smiled good-naturedly anyway. “Ah, well-“ He looked to Haru, who stared at him for a split second before averting his eyes before Makoto could read him. 

“It’s fine.” He paused. “I’ll wait here.”

“Ah, okay…” Haru watched as Makoto was pulled out of earshot, but he could only imagine all the moves that were being put on his person. Exhaling loudly he leaned against the lockers, staring at the ground as he felt his blood pulse loudly in his ears. Before he could get too worked up, however, a familiar cheerful voice shattered the dismal mood.

“Haru-chan!” Nagisa skipped over gleefully, followed by Rei. “You haven’t gone home yet?”

Haru shook his head as Rei glanced around. “Then where’s Makoto-senpai- Ah!” He spotted the two in the corner and pushed his glasses up calculatingly. “I see, I see…another one, huh?”

“Another one?” Nagisa turned to where Rei was looking, took in the scene, the glanced over at Haru, whose expression had noticeably darkened. The way Rei had easily hinted that this has been one of several girls seeking Makoto’s attention, eager to confess to him all smiles and giggles, intensified Haruka’s anxiety for some reason. If other people noticed it, it wasn’t all just in his head, and Makoto’s popularity was solidified as a reality. 

Nagisa took the scene in, then the familiar glint of understanding and plotting appeared in his eye. “Hey, Haru-chan…” He leaned against Haru’s shoulder while the raven tried to remain impassive. “Hey, hey Haru-chaaaan.” 

With a sigh, Haru glanced down at Nagisa. “What?” he grumbled, wanting to least stop that sing-song tone in his voice.

Nagisa grinned, a twinkle in his eye. “You’re jealous, right?” He gestured towards Makoto, as if it wasn’t painfully obvious what he was referring to. “Why don’t you go over there and claim your man?”

“Nagisa-kun!” Rei sputtered, causing Nagisa to try and suppress a giggle fit. “What kind of a suggestion is that?”

“Well it’s true, isn’t it? Just look at Haru-chan’s face! If that girl came over to try and talk to Mako-chan, Haru-chan should have ‘claimed his territory’, or whatever they say in my sister’s dramas” Nagisa nodded sagely, as if having older sisters gave him the complete authority on relationships and jealousy. “You know, they have a ton of magazines that talk about the best ways to ‘Keep your guy happy’ and all sorts of stuff like that, if you’re worried about any girls stealing him away~”

“Really, Nagisa-kun!” Rei pushed up his glasses, smirking a bit. “Makoto-senpai would never just choose someone else like that. Or can’t you see the true aspects of his personality?”

“Pft, jeeze, Rei-chan! I was only joking. I know Mako-chan likes Haru-chan the best! Right, Haru-chan?” 

Nagisa may have been joking, but the feelings that had been pressing on Haruka’s heart had finally been verbalized and, for some reason, hearing them from someone else made them even worse. Naturally, he was jealous of girls paying attention to his Makoto. Underneath that, though, was something that was beginning to scare him. What if Makoto found someone that he liked better? A lot of these girls were cute, after all, cheerful and more than willing to shower Makoto with affection in public. They also probably knew what to actually do when in a relationship with someone.

The opposite of him, really.

“Haru-chan?” Nagisa’s voice had a bit of concern in it now and Haru was snapped out of his thought. The blonde tilted his head slightly when Haru met his gaze, then smiled encouragingly. “You know, if you want, I could probably get some of those magazines for you.”

“Magazines?” They all jumped slightly in response to Makoto’s appearance, standing behind them with his usual good-natured smile. “What are you all talking about?”

“A-Ah! Just that Gou-chan was thinking of getting us a subscription to one of those swimming magazines Rin-chan gets! Right, Rei-chan?”

“Huh? Oh, right.” Rei nodded quickly. Haru wondered how those two could go from arguing to being co-conspirators in less than ten seconds flat.

“Is that so?” Makoto looked confused but accepted Nagisa’s explanation willingly. “Well, since we all ended up here, why don’t we go grab something to eat together?” He smiled brightly and Haru could feel his heart skip a beat. “We can talk about the new training menu Kou-chan wanted to try out.”

“Yay, let’s get burgers! Burgers!”

“Traditional Japanese food would be much healthier for the off-season, Nagisa-kun!”

Haru watched as Nagisa and Rei both went to grab their umbrellas, playfully bickering as they headed outside. “You forgot your umbrella, right Haru?” Blinking in surprise, he glanced up at Makoto who was smiling softly at him. “We can share mine.” 

They walked together, closely, as they both tried to fit underneath Makoto’s umbrella. Haru frowned lightly, noticing that Makoto was holding the umbrella more over him, causing most of Makoto’s left side to get wet. “Makoto…” he muttered, pushing the umbrella over towards the taller boy. “You’re getting wet.”

“Hm?” Makoto glanced up at the umbrella then down at Haru worriedly. “Ah, but I don’t want you to get wet and get a cold, Haru.”

“That doesn’t mean you should get soaked.” Sighing, he squeezed as close as possible to Makoto, making a bit more awkward to walk. “Here, just try and cover us both evenly.”

“A-ah…okay.” Haru glanced up at Makoto, eyes widening ever so slightly at the blush on his face. Suddenly he felt embarrassed at how close they were standing, in public no less, but tried to lessen it by grabbing Makoto’s hand and squeezing it.

“Don’t get like that…” he whispered under his breath. He was irritated at the fact that, because he could feel Makoto’s heartbeat quicken slightly, it was likely that Makoto could feel his as well.

xXx

Haru couldn’t tell if it was fortunate or unfortunate that Nagisa had kept his word. Either way, Nagisa had slipped some magazines into his bag with a wink and a “Good luck, Haru-chan!” Now he was sitting at his desk, staring at one of the magazines in his lap. A girly one with makeup and fashion tips but there was one article in particular that kept his attention:

**More than 50 Tips on How to Keep Your Guy! Worried that another girl is about to sink her claws into him? Our writers have some great advice for you!**

Haru glanced up at the front of the classroom, feeling his chest tighten at the sight of the girl from yesterday. She peeked her head in the door before she practically bounce over towards where Makoto was talking with the class president. 

Maybe Nagisa had the right idea.


	5. Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa's help might be worth more than Haru originally thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD writing smut is so hard, why.
> 
> Also, these articles are taken from real magazines. Just so you know.

“Nagisa…I know you’re trying to help, but…”

Haru stared down helplessly at the stack of magazines Nagisa had just hoisted into his arms.

“Well you said the first one didn’t have any tips you could use right? So I just grabbed all my sis’s magazines!”

“Are you s-sure she’s not going to notice?” Rei questioned nervously, shocked at the lengths that Nagisa had gone.

“Nope, she was doing some spring cleaning and I just grabbed these from the pile before she threw them out!”

“Spring cleaning? Nagisa, it’s almost WINTER, what-?”

Haru cleared his throat quietly to prevent another spat between the two then sighed lightly. “It’ll probably be the same as the other one” Muttering in embarrassment, he added, “They just talked about doing your hair or whatever to wear to attract attention, nothing that really…” Applies to guys, he added silently.

“Nooo, Haru-chan, you can’t give up that easy! I promise there has to be something, so you have to look okay?!” Haruka groaned silently to himself but didn’t tell Nagisa “no”, which luckily was enough to satisfy him for the moment.

Later that day, Haruka sat down cross-legged on the floor of his room, spreading Nagisa’s magazines in front of him. Makoto had invited him over, but Haru declined so that he could have some time to look these over without worrying about Makoto looking over his shoulder. Though, on seeing Makoto’s disappointed smile, he hastily added he’d come over the next day.

Haru grabbed the first magazine, idly flipping through it as he read the article’s titles and subjects. Tips for hair, make up, make up, stupid clothes advertisements, flirting…. Haru stopped skimming when he reached the "flirting" section and began to read in earnest. Make there was something there he could use.

“These tips will turn your seductive ways up a notch and could cause your long-term BF to the pizza delivery guy to do whatever you say…” Haru read out loud. This already wasn’t turning out very promising, but he continued on anyway.

**Comment on a guy’s outfit with something like “It takes a lot of balls for a man to wear pink. I’m into that”**

Haru spluttered and nearly threw the magazine in shock. Did people actually SAY those things? Was this serious? He tried to imagine himself saying that to Makoto and- wait, when has Makoto ever even worn pink?! He usually wore earthy colors, one that accented his eyes nicely. Chewing on his bottom lip, Haru skipped a few to try and find less stupid ones.

**Roll over in bed and lay your hand on his biceps. Give it a gentle squeeze and say “Wow”.**

**Grab his ass on the way to a restaurant.**

**Use your tongue to get that last crumb off your lips while eating dinner with him.**

**‘Trip’, fall against a man’s chest and say “Damn your pecs are so hard it felt like I was falling into a wall.”**

Face red as a tomato, Haru tossed the magazine to the side and shot up, flopping down on his bed and holding the pillow over his head to suppress his groans. Embarrassing, just completely embarrassing! He tried imagining just saying any of those things to Makoto and even in his fantasies he just broke down into embarrassed sputters and awkward silences. How would Makoto even react?

He imagined Makoto, staring agape and unsure of what to do, or even worse laughing at him.

Eventually he pulled the pillow off of his face with a long sigh. One more. One more couldn’t hurt right?

This time he picked up a magazine with fewer pictures, hoping these suggestions would be a little more intelligent as he flipped to a question and answer session.

**Q. I want to go farther with my guy, but I’m not sure how.**

Haruka felt his pulse quicken slightly.

**A. Making the first move can definitely be intimidating, even for guys! Initiating the action doesn’t mean you have to come on to your man like a porn star. Instead, try a more subtle seduction strategy, like catching him off guard with a passionate kiss. Stare into his eyes for a long time to make it obvious you want it!**

Haru didn’t put the magazine down out of frustration this time. He just had begun to feel so hot all over that he wasn’t sure that he could concentrate on the words anymore. Suddenly he imagined kissing Makoto on the couch, shifting so that he was straddling him, and then…

Another wave of embarrassment hit him, but he tried to shove it back down. If he could take the initiative and make Makoto his, he could deal with whatever happened at school because Makoto would be **his** and not theirs.

Smiling a little to himself, he reached over to grab his much-ignored phone, texting Makoto to ask if he wanted to come over to his house tomorrow instead.

xXx

“So you’re actually making something besides mackerel today?” Makoto questioned with a light chuckle as he looked over Haruka’s shoulder. Haru huffed, trying to suppress a pout as he lightly pushed Makoto away and tied the light blue apron around his waist.

“Be quiet or you’re not getting anything.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” Makoto smiled, kissing the side of Haruka’s head. “Do you need me to help?”

“Not after the last time I tried to show you how to cook. Just go and sit down.” Haru muttered, trying to suppress his blush. Makoto whined a little in embarrassment but went to the living room anyway and made himself comfortable.

Haru was less worried about setting the food on fire than he was about Makoto noticing what he was about to cook: Makoto’s favorite dish, green curry. He was already torn between a strange embarrassment and a desperate need to make something Makoto would really enjoy and didn’t need the brunette to unintentionally make it worse.

Looking down at the ingredients, Haru let out a light sigh. He would rather much be making mackerel, obviously, but another one of Nagisa’s magazines had mentioned cooking food for the person you like was just one of the many ways to make him happy.

_If I’m able to make Makoto happy, then he won’t…_

Haru didn’t want to finish that thought so instead he began chopping the green onions, concentrating on making the unfamiliar dish.

Once Haruka set the dish in front of Makoto, he quickly took his own seat, trying to glance over at Makoto’s reaction to the dish without being obvious about it.

“Ah, thank you Haru!” Makoto blinked for a moment, surprised. “Wait, is this…?”

“It’s green curry.” He hurriedly took up his spoon. “Let’s eat.”

Makoto quickly nodded in agreement, his smile increasing in brightness and warmth with each passing second. “Thank you for the food!” He took an enthusiastic bite, humming happily.

“…Is it good?” Haru couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Yes!” Makoto cheerfully replied. “It’s great, Haru. Thank you!”

Haruka felt a warmth spread from his chest to the tips of his fingers and toes and smiled in response. If he could just keep doing things to make Makoto smile like that, then maybe he wouldn’t feel so worried.

As they got closer to finishing dinner, however, Haruka began to feel a cold feeling replacing the warmth that was there earlier. Could he actually go through with initiating this? Would he mess up and make Makoto lose complete interest in doing those sorts of things with him? No, he told himself. He could do this. It was just Makoto, there was nothing to worry about. It would be fine.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Makoto asked, cleaning the plates off the table before Haru could stop him.

“A-Ah. Yeah.” Haru quickly moved over to the couch, giving Makoto the sign that he could pick what he wanted.

After a few minutes of deliberation and questioning Haru to make sure he didn’t pick out anything Haru didn’t want to watch, Makoto settled on The Blue Planet: Seas of Life documentary. It was something that Makoto knew Haru would like, even though Haru was sure that Makoto had gotten sick of watching it with him after so many times.

“It’s fine, Haru. I like it.” Makoto smiled in response to Haru’s questioning glance and settled down right next to his boyfriend, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. Haru tried his best to calm his breathing, even as Makoto’s fingers began to absentmindedly thread through his hair and stroke it gently.

A few minutes in and Haru was already tuning out the film, despite the water visuals on the screen in front of him. There was no way he could calm down, especially not now, when it would be the perfect opportunity.

“Makoto.” He uttered softly, subconsciously scooting a little closer. Makoto looked down at him with a curious smile just as Haru looked up to meet his eyes.

Now that he was staring up at them, Haru realized that he couldn’t break contact with Makoto’s eyes despite the blush crawling up the back of his neck. Makoto’s easy-going smile faded and was replaced with something else: gentler but still more intense than before.

Makoto silently brought his hand that was around Haru’s shoulders to the shorter teen’s face, cupping his cheek and slowly running his thumb along Haru’s top lip. Haruka inhaled sharply through his nose then quickly made up his mind, shifting so that he was sitting on Makoto’s lap as he went to kiss him.

“Mn, Haru…” Makoto moaned into the kiss, running his hands along Haru’s waist.

This wasn’t enough for Haru, though, and he knew he needed to take action now before he lost his courage. Pulling himself closer to Makoto before breaking away from the kiss, he reached down and began to unbutton his shirt, trying to ignore the slight shaking of his hands. Makoto stared at him, eyes widening slightly as if he wasn’t sure whether to believe this was happening or not.

“Ah, Haru—“ Makoto started, letting out a gasp as Haru began to work on the taller boy’s shirt, kissing along his jaw as he did so. Haru bit his lip, eyes hesitantly rising to meet his face. “Is this okay? Makoto…”

Makoto looked down at him, face flushed, as he seemed unable to catch his breath. “Y-Yeah…” He smiled warmly, looking slightly nervous but more excited than anything. “Keep going, Haru.”

With a small nod he sped up his pace, clumsily undoing the rest of Makoto’s buttons before pushing the fabric off. Haru’s blush deepend and for the first time he felt himself having trouble undressing himself, hands shaking as he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the way Makoto’s chest heaved with each breath. Makoto seemed to notice and let out a soft, breathy laugh. “N-Need help?’

Haru’s lips immediately turned downward into a slight pout. “Shut up” he mumbled, forcing his eyes away just long enough so that he could concentrate on getting his shirt off. After hurriedly throwing it away he pushed himself closer to Makoto, both of them gasping at the new sensation of skin meeting skin. 

“Ah, Haru…” Makoto murmured, tilting his head to capture Haru’s lips in another kiss, gently running his fingers along the other’s sides and back in a way that made him shudder.

It was almost too much and yet not enough at the same time as they both moaned into the progressively sloppier kiss and Haru inhaled sharply through his nose as he felt Makoto’s warm hands explore him all over: from his chest down to his stomach then firmly gripping his ass.

“M-Makoto, let me…” he tried to say, gasping loudly as Makoto brushed his fingers along Haru’s belt. “L-let me touch you…” His head was beginning to get fuzzy and was feeling frustrated that Makoto was being unselfish, as usual. Touching Haru all over while not minding that Haru had let to do the same. Makoto didn’t seem to hear him, however, causing Haru to wrap his arms around the taller boy to stable himself and began to shift. Makoto tried to bite back his cry as Haru grazed over his erection. Encouraged, Haru began to rock his hips, rubbing his bottom half against it and taking silent pleasure in the way it felt it harden.

“H-Ha-…Har-Ah!” Makoto gasped, his head falling back against the cushion, mouth open as the speed of his panting increased.

 _He looks really good like this._ Even though Makoto’s hands had stilled, clenching the fabric of Haru’s pants, Makoto’s expression, cheeks red and eyes squeezed shut in pleasure, was more than enough to arouse Haru further. 

“Haru…Haru please…” he moaned softly, pressing up against him. Haru didn’t have to ask to know what the other meant. Licking his lips nervously he began to undo Makoto’s pants, giving himself just enough room to reach his hand in and curl his fingers nervously around Makoto’s erection. Inhaling sharply, Makoto suddenly lifted his head up, eyes darkening in intensity. “Haru too…” he whispered, moving to unzip Haru’s pants as well.

“Makoto, you don’t have to- Ah!” An embarrassingly loud moan escaped from Haru’s lips. The intensity of the situation was becoming too much. This was the first time that he had touched anyone like this, the first time that anyone had touched HIM like this and the fact that he was doing all of this with Makoto was making him feel as if he was nearing the edge even when Makoto began to move his hand. “Makoto, I’m…” his voice cut off with a shudder, toes curling in pleasure and embarrassment as he leaned his face against Makoto’s shoulder.

_This isn’t good, I need to…_

Swallowing loudly, Haru began to move his hand as well, the heat coiling in his stomach becoming even more intense at the sounds that Makoto began to make. Unlike himself, Makoto didn’t seem to feel an urge to hold in his voice and Haru felt his dick twitch at each moan and hitched breath.

“Haru, I’m gonna…!”

“Y-Yeah, I…I can’t…Ah!” Haru came with a particularly loud cry, squeezing Makoto’s even harder in reflex. This helped save Haru from a little bit of embarrassment at coming first, as it caused Makoto’s body to tense up and follow suit with a gasp of “Haru!”.

Haru collapsed against Makoto, breathing heavily, while Makoto wrapped his arms lovingly around Haru’s waist and began to kiss his forehead and nuzzle against his hair. Haru suddenly felt exhausted but more relaxed than he had been all month as he felt enveloped in Makoto’s warmth, his smell, his EVERYTHING. 

“Haru, we should clean up…” Makoto whispered as he kissed his ear gently.

“Too much effort.” Haru mumbled, holding onto Makoto a bit tighter. “We can take a bath later.”

Makoto hummed in approval, shifting so that he was lying down on the couch with Haru on top of him. They both felt sticky and a bit gross but with Makoto’s hands rubbing the small of Haru’s back and Haru’s face fitting perfectly in the crook of Makoto’s neck, both of them felt comfortable enough to lay there for another hour, the movie forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued!


End file.
